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Saturday, November 16, 2013

Mice Books and Altoids Tin

What is it about the charm of mice? So many people have created miniature mice for the ages. In the 1960s I created a mouse house to enter in a city newspaper Christmas contest and won 3rd prize, not bad for a young woman with little crafting resources. In those days you created from scratch. Today so much of crafting is what I call assembly. Just walk through Michaels or Joann Crafts and you see what I mean.

Here are some of my books featuring mice, Jan Brett's 1994 Town Mouse Country Mouse is especially beautifully illustrated. The House That Mouse Built has the felted mice by Maggie Rudy, copyright 2011.

Angelina's Christmas is now a Christmas classic, I've had mine since 1985 and The Night Before Christmas since 1982. The mice live in a tree stump house.

In 2003 we bought the adorable Rip Squeak puzzle with him dancing on the piano keys and assembled it with grandson Davis, Reese was just a newborn. When the 3 volume book collection was issued I had to have it for myself and enjoy the Leonard Filgate illustrations.

Back to the present time and Davree's Cottage. She will have her in-house mouse. Last night, after a day of real estate and various work, when the house was quite, I sat in my sewing room to make a sleeping mouse.

In my 1980s Christmas scene the mouse slept in a sardine tin, the type with the metal key that rolled back to make a perfect headboard. I don't know if they are made that way any more but I've seen Altoid tins used for mice. My drawer of empty bags and boxes has a couple of tins. It makes a perfect little bed.